


Baby, Can't Explain It

by todd whyard (deanwin)



Category: Polygon/McElroy Vlogs & Podcasts RPF
Genre: Daddy Kink, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Take me out back and shoot me because I've given in kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 23:09:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19485913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deanwin/pseuds/todd%20whyard
Summary: The way I feel about you, baby, can't explain itYou got the best of my love.Patbri drabble. I've finally given in. Happy polygon appreciation week.





	Baby, Can't Explain It

**Author's Note:**

> If you got here by googling people you know or are, please leave (it also means ao3 fucked up because I am doing my best to hide this). We're just playing with sockpuppets that just so happen to have the names and faces of niche microcelebs, pay it no mind. 
> 
> Listen I just wanted to write the 400th work for the tag even if I don't finish it, because I noticed some works were disappearing.
> 
> Idea courtesy of disappointeddogmum's tumblr post that made me fall down this exact rabbit hole  
> EDIT: took this puppy off anon, putting my money where my mouth is might make me finally continue writing whoops

If you'd asked Brian five minutes earlier what it would take for him to not be able to look his coworker in the eyes, he would have laughed it off. Polygon wasn't exactly known for its tame humour or its restrained personalities, so unless someone was legitimately setting fires in the office, no one would bat an eye. Well, even the literal fires in the studio (that may or may not have set off a smoke alarm and necessitated a premature cut in the finished video) were shrugged off as normal video-team eccentricities. 

Given the very loose definition of "normal office behaviour" that everyone operated under, Brian had lulled himself into a false sense of security. Surely there is nothing absurd enough to break through the monotony of a workday, not when a normal workday includes skateboards or laying on the floor and reading hundreds of pages of lore about games he had no intention of ever actually playing. No siree, he, Brian David Gilbert, is positively unflappable regardless of what nonsense he or his coworkers might be up to. He'll joke around with Simone, maybe take a longer-than-strictly-permitted lunch with Jenna under the guise of brainstorming new series, or lose his train of thought as he stares distractedly at Pat, who is leaning against his standing desk in a way that absolutely negates whatever supposed health benefits the contraption is supposed to have. 

It is between procrastinating the latest Unraveled script and staring at Pat's ass that Brian gets sucked down the rabbit hole of reading through old posts on Polygon. _Really old posts._ If Tara asks him about it during a performance review he'll just say he was brushing up on the style guide and how it changed, wouldn't want Unraveled to drift too far away from what is recognizably Polygon, right? But in actuality he's been working his way through his friends' and coworkers' earlier posts, trying to assuage the impostor syndrome that sometimes rears its ugly head, while also eagerly drinking in any detail about the authors that he might have missed in casual office conversations.

It's not a _weird_ thing, he's just curious and needs to take his mind off the script for _Smash Unraveled_ because dear lord, half these characters sound fake. 

So it's totally, _totally_ normal for him to be on Patrick Gill's Polygon profile, and it's _fine_ that Brian has just gone to the earliest page on a whim, and he is definitely not stealing glances at Pat as he reads forum posts from 2013 written by a Pat who was only a fan of the site. Brian is also definitely not growing more enamoured by the second as he reads the positive, excited comments this version of Pat left, eager to learn more about a company that he probably had no idea would someday hire him, would someday make him one of their main video team members. 

Brian's heart feels like it might burst as he entertains the idea of this Pat, thinks about how cute he must have been, subconsciously compares him to the man he knows, one of his best friends. He pointedly avoids thinking about the fact that he himself was still in high school when Pat was writing this, instead choosing to focus on the posts again. There appears to be a bit of a time skip, with a clear delineation between Employee-Pat posts and fanposts, except-- _oh._

If others in the office had heard him, they probably would've described the sound Brian makes as "a choking puppy that might also have just gotten shot" as he momentarily loses his grasp on the English language. Brian _sinks_ into his chair, head resting on his arms, resting on his thighs, a yoga pose by all accounts except for the part where it is _definitely not relaxing._ He heaves a deep breath at the inherent ridiculousness of being this thrown by a three year old post, but no matter how hard Brian tries, he cannot lift up his head, and he most certainly can not look at Pat right now, because _Jesus._

On his screen there is Pat Gill's final fanpost, announcing his new position as Polygon employee. The post meant to give coworkers and readers alike a sense of who he is, an introduction to the world of Polygon, and for some ungodly reason (that Brian can only assume was the desire to make Brian's life as hard as possible, even across time) Pat chose to name the article " _There's a New Daddy in Town_."

Brian groans into his sleeve.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm joining you all in the pit as a creator. Sorry, I read Pat's early posts on polygon and had a fuckin rage-induced aneurysm and this is what came of it. Written in 20 minutes or so, but I am depressingly likely to continue this once I get back home.  
> I'm transplanting all my thirsty rage onto Brian, and it might be very easy to figure out who this is.
> 
> I'll be moderating comments so feel free to talk to me even if you wanna keep it private!  
> I absolutely blame all the genuinely good and wonderful writers in this fandom, it would be so much easier to refrain from rpf if y'all weren't that talented. (Especially Fish. gdi fish lmao)


End file.
